Rinehart also warns of the dangers of excessive household and government debt.

Her plea to earn before spending came as the Ten Network, where she's a director and major shareholder, went to the market to ask its long-suffering shareholders for an extra $230 million, much of which will be used to pay off a $210 million debt that falls due in March.

Rinehart is concerned that advertising is down, "and professional jobs are being terminated Australia-wide".

Perhaps a reference to the 100-odd jobs, including those of newsreader Helen Kapalos, lost from Ten?

According to the nation's richest person, back in the day almost every Australian home "understood that you had to earn revenue before you could spend it".

"Then you had to make choices: it might be nice to have overseas holidays, but maybe we should renovate the bathroom and/or kitchen, save for a granny flat, et cetera," Rinehart said in her regular column, published today.

"Proper planning and allocation within the budget constraints had to occur. This may not be popular, but we need to get back to these basic understandings, and, very importantly for Australia, so do our overspending governments."

Video: Gina Rinehart wards off media at Ten AGM in Sydney

Australia's central government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product is the third lowest of the developed economies, according to 2010 OECD data.

Ten shareholders are meeting this morning, with strong protest votes against the remuneration report and the election of board-nominated directors expected.

Rinehart attended just eight of the 14 board meetings held in the 2012 financial year.